1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for discharging sheets on which images have been formed, and a post-processing apparatus therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus, such as a printer or a copying machine, which is provided with a post-processing apparatus for aligning ends of a plurality of sheets on which images have been formed (printed), performing post processing, such as stapling and punching, on the sheets, and discharging bundles of sheets for stacking (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,826).
However, the image forming apparatus proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,826 does not propose an image forming apparatus configured to meet the two requirements of ensuring the security of discharged printouts and preventing noise (machine noise) made by the operation of the image forming apparatus from becoming obtrusive to a user.